The Triangle

Issue date: 6/2/06 Section: Sports

Though the actual college basketball season lasts only a few months, the season never really ends for the people who work inside of the programs. Most of the spring, summer and fall is devoted to budgeting, scheduling, other pre-season preparations and most of all, recruiting. Coaches travel all over the country to watch potential recruits play, and spend hundreds of hours researching players and trying to convince them why their school is the best choice. It is not an easy job, but recruiting the best possible student-athletes is essential to the development and success of the basketball program in the upcoming season and the years thereafter.

This fall, Drexel's basketball team will welcome four new faces to their senior-loaded team, all of whom have unique qualities that should give the Dragons a nice set of weapons to compete in the competitive Colonial Athletic Association. The acquisition of these new players will fill the void of the forward position on Drexel's team, with three forwards departing last year and two more graduating after this coming season.

All four pick-ups have strong high-school credentials, and have helped their respective teams achieve very successful seasons. In addition, this year's recruiting class is one of the tallest that the Dragons have ever been able to enlist, giving the team a needed boost in the size department. While it is tough to judge how players will adjust and perform in the college game coming out of high school, Bruiser Flint and the rest of the Drexel coaching staff feel that this class should be able to make a big impact on the future of the Dragons' basketball program.

Lance Feurtado, Jr.

Feurtado was the first player that the Dragons locked in for the fall; he signed a letter of intent with Drexel last November. Feurtado is highly regarded in the Long Island area, where he led Uniondale High with an average of 15 points and 4.4 rebounds a game last season. The small forward's consistently strong shooting impressed the Dragons' coaches to actively pursue him, but he acknowledges that he needs to continue to improve his defensive game, something that has become a staple of Flint's teams.

While a senior-backed team like Drexel's this season usually offers fewer opportunities for freshmen to get playing time, Feurtado should definitely get some floor action this year if he proves that he can perform on the college level. "We are hoping he will be able to come in and contribute as a freshman," said Flint.

Yannick Formbor-Nono

At 6'8", Formbor-Nono is one of the largest recruits that the Dragons have landed in recent years; his size will give him instant value to the team's inside game. The incoming freshman hails from St. Patrick's High School in Elizabeth, N.J., one of the state's most respected and competitive basketball programs, where he was one of the school's highest scorers.

Formbor-Nono's strengths include solid passing and ball-handling skills, and he excels at capitalizing on transition opportunities. He has definite room for improvement, however, and will be given a great opportunity to do so with Dragons throughout the next four years. If he can further develop his skills inside, he has the potential to become a great asset for Drexel, especially when he will have the size advantage over smaller competition.

Rob Hampton

The Dragons' third scholarship for this fall goes to this resident of Queens, N.Y. Hampton is a very talented athlete, receiving all-city high school honors in both basketball as a forward and football as a wide receiver. He averaged 15.6 points and six rebounds a game in high school, and the Dragons hope that he will be able to spark an offense that has been somewhat lackluster in recent years.

In addition, Hampton has some qualities that the Dragons' coaching staff actively seeks in terms of his on-the-court toughness and hustle. Flint describes Hampton as "hard-nosed and tough" and compares his game play as similar to graduating senior Kenell Sanchez's. If Hampton lives up to his high school hustle and offensive prowess, he definitely has potential to be a star for the Dragons as his collegiate career progresses.

Even Neisler

Neisler will fill the Dragons' final open spot, transferring to Drexel from the Boston College squad that was ranked among the Top 20 teams nearly all of last season. While Neisler did not see much action for the Eagles last season, he is a strong player at the forward position and should be able to help the Dragons inside in the coming years. Interestingly, Even's brother Ross Neisler played basketball for Drexel in the late 1990's.

Due to NCAA transfer regulations, Neisler will not be eligible to play for the Dragons next season. However, he will be able to practice with the team and get to know Coach Flint's system before his three years of eligibility begin in the 2007-08 season. While the addition of a transfer player is always something of a question mark for a team, Neisler's size and experience should be very beneficial to Drexel's squad, which will lose a large group of seniors to graduation this coming season.

The addition of these four players to the Dragons will give this season's highly skilled team even more strength as they attempt to win Drexel's first conference championship since 1996. The veteran team now has a lot of added inside power to complement the guard play of Dominick Mejia, Bashir Mason and Scott Rodgers, which will give the team an extra dimension this season. The Dragons' current players, who already have great potential, can work with the freshmen to improve, and more importantly, the incoming players can learn from the upperclassmen and develop skills that will be critical to Drexel's basketball success over the next few years.

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